Water cooled annular seal



Nov. 6, 1956 E. F. HElMBucl-l WATER cooLED ANNULAR SEAL Filed June 2, 1954 United States Patent WATER COOLED ANNULAR SEAL Elmer F. Heimbuch, Chicago Heights, Ill., assignor to Brommer Seal Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application June 2, 1954, Serial No. 433,900

2 Claims. (Cl. 103-111) This invention relates to a water cooled annular seal for a rotary yshaft and more particularly a deviceof this iceA tion of a spring clip 28, by a coil spring 29. The cover class adapted for heavy duty `such .as to prevent lthe passage of iluid along and around the shaft, as for example, in water pumps for diesel motor equipment.

This invention is an improvement on Olin Brummer and Elmer F. Heimbuch application Serial No. 306,892, liled August 28, 1952, for Unitary Seal Device, now U. S. Patent No. 2,722,439, issued November l, 1955.

It has been found that in devices of the size to which the present invention is particularly directed, vheart is likely to be developed to cause the sealing parts, particularly at their rotary running interfaces, to become so hot that warpage or breakage is possible or an increase of friction 4which impairs the sealing function. It has been found that by permitting free access of the water -or other coolant to one side of the nia-ting sealing pants, a marked reduction in heat of these parts may be advantageously eilected while maintaining the sealing function of the parts.

In an important aspect, the present invention aims to provide not Aonly means 4for access of the coolant to the interior of the seal for the aforestated purpose, but also baille means associated with the access means that will direct the iluid therethrough and insure its application to the critical parts.

T-he invention will be described for exemplieation as applied to and in -connection with the aforementioned Brummer and Heimbuch application.

The invention will be understood 'by reference to the accompanying drawings, showing an illustrative embodiment of the invention, and in which drawings- Figure 1 is a cross-section showing an annular seal, to which the invention is adapted, applied to the shaft of a water pump of the class referred to, portions of the Water pump impeller being shown and the annular seal being of, say, full size;

Figure 2 is a face view, taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1, showing the cover plate for the -annular seal to which speciilcally the present invention is applied; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary edge view; taken as on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, of the cover plate.

Referring in detail to the illustrative construction shown in the drawings, the numeral 11 may indicate a water pump housing element having a counterbore 12 for the rotatable shaft 13 of the pump impeller 14 which rotates in the impeller lchamber 15 from which egress of Water is desired to be sealed against escape through the counterbore 12 and along the shaft 13. For this purpose, the annular seal herein shown is provided, which, in this instance, has a cup-like casing 16 at one end having an opening 17 through its rear wall 18 and having an annular brim 19 at its other end.

Partially closing the casing 16 at its last mentioned end is an annular cover plate 20 having an .annular rim 21, the brim 19 and rim 121 being lappingly secured together as by bolts 22 which pass through registering bolt holes 23 in the cover plate 20 and casing -16 and lare plate 20 thus also provides a cover plate for one end of the elastomeric sleeve.

The sealing disk 27 has a lapped face 30 which has rotary running sealing engagement with .the opposite interface of the metallic collar or washer 31 that is pressed on and turns with the shaft 1-3 against a shoulder 31a therein. The cover plate 20 has a tapered or conoidal wall 32 which terminates in a reverse bend or inturned inner margin 33 ,and provides a seat for the `spring 29 at that end thereof. The cover plate inner margin 33 laps the impeller hu'b 14a but receives the latter rotatively therethrough lto rotate with the shaft y13 as by key 13a and keyway 13b. Y l

In accordance with the present invention, the conoidal wall 32 is perforated a-s .at 34, providing an aperture through which iluid from the pump chamber 1'5 may llow into the interior of the seal and may reach the spring cli-p 28 and sealing washer 27 Ito cool the latter part.

:Desirably a number of perforar-tions or apertures 34 in the conoidal Wall 432 `of the cover plate 20 are spaced about the periphery of the cover plate. Desirably there are more than three of these apertures, and, in this instance, six such apertures are shown as spaced at intervals of sixty degrees around the periphery.

The apertures 34 lare advantageously formed by cutouts in the wall 32 formed-by struckout portions 35 which are bent out of the plane of the wall to (form the apertures. By bending the struckout portions 35 into a plane normal to the plane of the wall and causing them to be upstanding on far or the downstream side of each aperture 34, the struckout parts 35 provide bailles which direct the cooling iluid through the Iapertures and into the interior of the elastomeric sleeve 25. For a pump in which the impeller would rot-ate in the opposite direction, the bailles would be on the opposite sides of the apertures, which would still 'be the downstream side. As clearly lshown in the drawing, each peripheral lbaille 35 is disposed -With its two greater dimensions lying in an axial plane relative to the shaft 13, as indicated at A for example, and A. By reason of the conoidal wall 32 the bailles are also disposed in a common radial plane as indicated at B.

By axial plane is meant a plane which extends in the direction of the axis and is coincident therewith. By two greater dimensions is meant the ilat .area represented by the width and length of the baille 35 as distinguished from its thickness. Operation of the device -will now be explained by which it will be Iapparent what is meant by the terms baille and far or downstream side of the aperture:

It may be .assumed that the shaft 13 and pump impeller 14 are rotating in the direction of the arrow 36 (Fig. 2). The water in the impeller chamber 15 tends (to swirl in the same direction, and, -since the cover plate 20 is stationary, is thrown iby the force of the impellers, against the bailles 35, `which trap portions of lthe Water thus thrown against them. Such trapped water takes the path of least resistance, that is through the apertures 34 Iand into the interior of the sleeve 25.

By the term water it is intended to include water i-tself or any coolant provided by a iluid mixed with water or otherwise.

By elastomeric is meant characteristics of an elastomer such as natural or synthetic rubber, and particularly such material that is resistant to the action of changes of temperature, etc.

a pump impeller, a shaft arranged to rotate in a p-redetermined direction, said impeller having a hub keyed to rotate with the shaft, a sleeve of elastomeric material encircling said shaft spaced therefrom, a co'ver plate having a conoidal wall sealingly secured at its larger end to one end of the sleeve and at its smaller end telescoping over the hub W-ith a clear running t, a plurality of lmore than three peripheral perforations in said conoidal IWall spaced circumferentially thereabout, each perforation being formed by a struck-out portion -of said wall bent to provide an upstanding baffle for said perforation, said batlies being jointly disposed in =a common radial plane intersecting said conoidal wall and each said baflie being disposed with its two greater dimensions lying substantially in an axial plane relative to said shaft and being on the far side of its perforation looking in the direction of rotation of the shaft, whereby, upon actuation of said impeller by said shaft, water activated thereby is -circulated annularly in said direction about said conoidal wall .and is directed by said baflies through said perforations into the space within said sleeve, and means at tthe other end of the sleeve providing a rotary running sealing engagement between said sleeve and said shaft.

2. In a water pump seal arrangement, in combination, a pump impeller, a shaft arranged to rotate in a predetermined direction, said impeller having a hub keyed to rotate with the shaft, a sleeve of elastomeric material encircling said shaft spaced therefrom, a cover plate having a Iconoidal Wall sealingly secured at its larger end to one end of the sleeve and at its smaller end telescoping over the lhub with a clear running tit, a plurality of more than three peripheral perforations in said conoidal wall spaced circumferentially thereabout, each perforation being formed by a struck-out portion of said wall bent to provide kan upstanding bale for said perforation, said bales beingV jointly `disposed in :a common radial plane intersecting said conoidal Wall and each said bathe being on the far side of its perforation looking in the direction of rotation `of vthe shaft, whereby, upon actuation of said impeller Eby said shaft, water activated thereby is circulated annularly in said direction about said conoidal wall and is directed by said baies through said perforations into the space within said sleeve, and means at the `other end `of the sleeve providing a rotary running sealing engagement between said sleeve and said shaft.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain June 25, 1937 

